New York reaches deal to legalise recreational weed March 25, 2021 New York State officials finalised a deal today to legalise the use of recreational marijuana for everyone aged 21 and above. Legislators in Albany today struck an agreement with Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to allow recreational use of cannabis for adults aged 21 and over, the New York Times first reported. Three people familiar with [...]
Deloitte paid to draft parliamentary answers and media lines on test and trace March 25, 2021 The government has been using Deloitte to help ministers draft parliamentary questions and media lines to defend the ‘test and trace’ system. Since the pandemic began, Deloitte has won public sector contracts worth £323m, according to figures from the Good Law Project. Buried in those contracts are details of help with PR and communications, with [...]
CMC Markets predicts better-than-expected operating income for 2020 March 25, 2021 CMC Market has suggested its predicted operating income for 2020 could be higher than expected, after reporting a strong performance in the final quarter of its financial year. In a market update today, the online trading and B2B platform said that following strong performance, net operating income for the financial year was likely to be [...]
Covid support scheme lands Funding Circle record loans under management March 25, 2021 The number of loans under management at lending platform Funding Circle hit a record in 2020, with the firm’s involvement in the Covid support scheme giving a boost to the business. In 2020 Funding Circle achieved record loans under management of £4.21bn, up from £3.73bn in 2019 – a 13 per cent increase. The lender [...]
Hiring for lawyers at highest since pre-pandemic March 25, 2021 Recruitment for lawyers is at its highest level since before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, new labour market data for England and Wales has found. Professional legal recruitment took a big hit during the UK’s first national lockdown, resulting in hiring levels in Q2 2020 falling by 74.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Year-on-year vacancies across [...]
Nationwide to let all 13,000 office staff work from home permanently March 25, 2021 Nationwide will allow all 13,000 of its office staff to permanently work remotely when coronavirus restrictions are eased. The building society said office staff can work from anywhere in the UK, as it “puts them in control of how they balance their work and home lives”. The move follows a survey of Nationwide employees, [...]
Burford Capital restores dividend following record year for realised gains March 24, 2021 Burford Capital has restored its dividend to its pre-pandemic level of 12.5 cents per share, and plans to pay out a full dividend in June, despite not paying an interim dividend in December 2020. The litigation founder enjoyed a record year for realised gains. The group saw asset realisations up 72 per cent this year [...]
Watchdog encourages City workers to snitch on financial services wrongdoing March 24, 2021 The City watchdog has today launched a campaign to get people working in financial services to get in touch about potential wrongdoing they see in their day-to-day lives. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said those who whistleblow will have a dedicated case manager, can meet with the FCA to discuss their concerns, and will receive [...]
Deloitte offers up to £2,000 ‘thank you’ bonus to firm’s non-partners March 24, 2021 After taking austerity measures last year to navigate the pandemic, Big Four firm Deloitte plans to hand out ‘thank you’ bonuses to all firm employees. ‘Thank you’ payments of between £500 and £2,000 will be paid to all UK staff below partner level at the end of April, with the amount paid determined by the [...]
TSB chair Richard Meddings to step down after three years March 24, 2021 TSB chairman Richard Meddings has announced plans to step down from his position later this year. Meddings, who became chairman in February 2018, will continue to lead the board while the search for a successor takes place. Is chairman is not moving to another role, but already hold a number of non-executive roles beyond his [...]
